Corvette C7.R is ready for battle in Detroit

Come on, feel the noise.

Since the C5.R debuted in GT1 in 1999, the first thing anyone who's ever heard a Corvette race car will tell you about it is the noise it makes. It sounds like Armageddon—like the Earth you're standing on is about to crack open beneath your feet and swallow everything you know and love. You don't just hear the car roar by, you feel it in your chest. Against the background noise of flat-sixes and diesel prototypes that sound like Shop-Vacs, you always know when a Corvette is coming.

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"Chris Cantle"

This is why we're so excited about the C7.R that's been introduced today in Detroit. Two C7.Rs will compete this year in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship in the GTLM class and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GTE Pro class. It was unveiled alongside the new Corvette Z06 road car, and Chevrolet says there was more than a bit of overlap in the development of the two.

Both cars share the same production-based aluminum frame built at the Corvette assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. GM says the frame is significantly stiffer than the C6's chassis, and the company says its drivers noticed immediate improvement in handling during initial testing.

"Chris Cantle"

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Now that the Z06 uses a direct injection engine, this also allows for the use of the same technology in the C7.R. This should improve fuel economy by about three percent, which could translate to one less fuel stop over the course of a 24-hour race. Engine displacement varies between the race and road cars. Class rules limit the size of the C7.R's engine to 5.5 liters and prohibit forced induction, so about 500 hp is the norm for the class. The new 6.2-liter supercharged mill in the Z06 road car overtakes that figure with 625 hp.

"Chris Cantle"

We've recently seen camouflaged C7.Rs testing at both Laguna Seca and Daytona, but we're more than ready to see these beasts in race conditions later this month.